Could the starters buy into the bench?

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by magnifier661, Oct 18, 2014.

  1. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    Aldridge, Lillard, matthews and Batum took much of the scoring load last season. Because of that, we had 2 20+ scorers and two others above 15 a game.

    My question, if the bench is actually good, is will the starters be fine scoring less to have a more dynamic team? Obviously we could have all star snubs because of it, but our team would be so much stronger.

    Anyone?
     
  2. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    Our guys care about winning. I think that's the most important thing. I think they also realize that they were all exhausted by the end of the season. A bench is a must.
     
  3. Strenuus

    Strenuus Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    So far, the starters have felt like they are team guys. Lets hope that continues.
     
  4. Strenuus

    Strenuus Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    It's also up to Stotts to actually use the bench, and forget about past transgressions of said bench. I'm a little skeptical of that.
     
  5. Eastoff

    Eastoff But it was a beginning.

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    If the guys don't get mentioned in the all-star race, that might be an issue. But really Damian and LaMarcus are the only guys in that conversation, and they aren't going anywhere anyway.
     
  6. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    I agree with this... I'm just thinking we may see a 2000 blazer team with over 7-8 player averaging double figures.
     
  7. julius

    julius Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    they only had 3 player who averaged more than 15 ppg. LaMarcus, Damian and Wesley. Nic didn't average 15 (and never has).
     
  8. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    13 my bad... Still will these players accept dropping their scoring for wins?
     
  9. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    Nic did however have 2 triple doubles, at least one 9/9/9 game, a lot of games just under double digits and a 5x5 game. Against Haifa, we had 121 pts with high scorer being Rolo with 13...that's an unselfish team. I'm not worried at all about scoring this season. I think our starters will still play 34 minutes a game most nights.
     
  10. Strenuus

    Strenuus Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Id say that's more about how bad the competition was more than we were unselfish. They all knew they could get points at will.
     
  11. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    LaMarcus had 5 assists at halftime..yeah the competition was bad but credit unselfish play. There was a ton of ball movement.
     
  12. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    The Wizards beat this team by 6 so I guess that makes us 41pts better than the Wiz?
     
  13. Strenuus

    Strenuus Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    I want to see it against an nba defense before I get too excited. That's just me, though.
     
  14. 3RA1N1AC

    3RA1N1AC 00110110 00111001

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    Just win baby. I'm positive that nobody will give a shit.
     
  15. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    If they take up that famous quote, they will be "winning"!
     
  16. PDXFonz

    PDXFonz I’m listening

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    I don't think we see very many/if any lineups consisting of 5 bench players. I think the way Stotts has rotated in the preseason won't change. Some minutes might go up or down, but we will see the bench play with starters often. It's a great way to keep players happy, and good for keeping consistent play.

    Natural a system like this will mean less touches for certain players. Aldridge and lillArd will get theirs when they are on the court, Batum and matthews will see their shots go down. But Mathews is a player who will make the most out of his opportunities, and Batums scoring going down allows him to be more of a facilitator.
     
  17. kjironman1

    kjironman1 Well-Known Member

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    Or the team stops having those long droughts where they don't score and the overall team scoring average goes up. This would give the starters the same numbers and the bench a few points. If they went from 106 a game to lets say 110 a game this would make them extremely hard to beat.
     
  18. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    Agreed. Stotts seemed almost bewildered last year when he had to look to the bench for help. Like he was picking names out of a hat rather than looking at matchups or lineups.

    It's a question of awareness and imagination.

    Some coaches see a team of 12 players, all with unique skill-sets and capabilities.

    Some coaches see a team of 5 players, 1-2 backups, and 5 guys they practice against.
     
  19. tlongII

    tlongII Legendary Poster

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    Lots of guys on contract years. It will be interesting.
     
  20. OneLifeToLive

    OneLifeToLive Well-Known Member

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    yeah, I don't think it's about the numbers for any of these guys. They are pretty well locked in on what they need to do to be successfull.
     

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